Engineering Hiring Market Report: November 2026
The US engineering hiring market in one page, for employers: engineering jobs, pay growth, job openings in the sectors that hire engineers, pay by role and city, and the data center construction pipeline. Updated every month from Bureau of Labor Statistics data and our own project tracker.
Hiring engineers?Covers September 2026 jobs dataStaffing firms like Aerotek and Kforce publish monthly market updates for their clients. This is ours, built for the people who hire engineers. Every figure on this page comes from public data, mainly the Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report and job openings survey, combined with the large US data center projects we track. It updates automatically when new data is released, so you always see the current month.
This month in brief
- Engineering employment was up 45,000 over the year. US architecture and engineering firms employed 1,778,800 people in September 2026, up 5,800 from August and 2.6% higher than a year earlier. Total US payrolls grew 0.3% over the same period, so engineering firms outpaced the wider job market.
- Pay at engineering firms rose 4.1% over the year. Average hourly earnings at architecture and engineering firms were $53.10 in August 2026, ahead of the 3.0% rise for all private-sector workers. Offers that matched the market a year ago may now be light.
- Construction employment was +1.3% and manufacturing +0.3% over the year, the two industries outside engineering firms that employ the most engineers. Heavy and civil engineering construction, which covers roads, utilities, pipelines and power work, was +2.2% with 1,210,800 jobs.
- Professional and business services had 1.19M job openings in August 2026, +8.3% on a year earlier. This is the sector that includes engineering and design firms. Openings stood at 522K in manufacturing (+25.5%) and 251K in construction (+17.8%).
- 52 GW of large data center capacity is under construction across the 111 active campuses in our data center tracker, with 85,775 construction jobs announced. Since October 2026: 9 new projects and 1 came online.
Where engineers work: jobs by industry
Engineers are spread across several industries. Architecture and engineering firms are the core, but many more work for manufacturers and contractors. These are seasonally adjusted payroll counts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report.
| Industry | Jobs | 1-month change | 12-month change | 12-month % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture and engineering firmsEngineering, design, surveying and drafting services | 1,778,800Sep 2026 | +5,800 | +45,000 | +2.6% |
| Heavy and civil engineering constructionRoads, bridges, utilities, pipelines, power | 1,210,800Sep 2026 | +2,600 | +26,300 | +2.2% |
| Construction, all | 8,364,000Sep 2026 | +11,000 | +109,000 | +1.3% |
| Manufacturing, all | 12,652,000Sep 2026 | +9,000 | +40,000 | +0.3% |
| Computer systems designIT and software services firms | 2,355,400Sep 2026 | −4,400 | −32,200 | −1.3% |
| All US jobsTotal nonfarm payrolls | 159,044,000Sep 2026 | +29,000 | +496,000 | +0.3% |
Jobs at architecture and engineering firms
Job growth vs a year earlier
Job openings in the sectors that hire engineers
Openings come from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which runs about a month behind the jobs report. BLS does not publish openings for engineering firms alone, so we show the three sectors where most engineers work.
| Sector | Openings | A year earlier | 12-month % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional and business servicesIncludes engineering and design firms | 1,186,000Aug 2026 | 1,095,000 | +8.3% |
| Manufacturing | 522,000Aug 2026 | 416,000 | +25.5% |
| Construction | 251,000Aug 2026 | 213,000 | +17.8% |
| All industries | 7,079,000Aug 2026 | 6,919,000 | +2.3% |
Engineering pay this month
Average hourly earnings at architecture and engineering firms, compared with all private-sector workers. When engineering pay grows faster than pay overall, last year's salary bands fall behind and offers get turned down.
Median annual pay by role
| Role | US median | Atlanta | Dallas-FW | Houston | 10-year growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineer | $104,110 | $102,020 | $105,420 | $125,350 | +11.2% |
| Electrical Engineer | $120,630 | – | $124,390 | $131,070 | +9.9% |
| Civil Engineer | $100,840 | $88,000 | $96,920 | $100,950 | +6.4% |
| Industrial Engineer | $102,440 | $102,300 | $105,640 | $111,690 | +12.4% |
| Process Engineer | $125,040 | $103,520 | $130,520 | $138,120 | +4.7% |
| Aerospace Engineer | $134,960 | $150,220 | $134,570 | $133,970 | +8.3% |
| Engineering Manager | $171,270 | $162,410 | $172,160 | $172,020 | +5.5% |
| Construction Manager | $114,990 | $119,590 | $103,550 | $103,530 | +9.1% |
| CAD Designer | $66,150 | $74,180 | $66,890 | $63,120 | +5.2% |
Annual pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, which updates once a year. Growth: BLS Employment Projections. Check any role in any city with our engineering salary calculator.
Data center construction this month
Data centers are the biggest single source of new demand for electrical, mechanical, controls and civil engineers right now. These figures come from our US data center map and project tracker of campuses of 100 MW and up, updated monthly.
What changed since October 2026
- Came onlinePolaris Forge 1 (contracted full build) (Applied Digital), Ellendale, North Dakota, 400 MW
- NewCameron County AI campus (first phase) (Fluidstack), Brownsville, Texas, 1,500 MW
- NewWest Creek campus (under consideration) (Google), Goochland, Virginia, 1,200 MW
- NewTaylor Technology Campus (Big Watt Digital and PowerHouse Data Centers), Taylor, Texas, 1,000 MW
- NewMuskie Data Campus (eastern Kentucky) (TeraWulf), Kentucky, 1,000 MW
- NewVan Buren Township data center (Google), Van Buren Township, Michigan, 1,000 MW
4 more changes on the data center map.
How many people these projects need, and where the workforce runs short: see our Data Center Workforce Report.
Hiring engineers this quarter?
Apollo Technical has recruited engineering, IT and supply chain talent since 2010, on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis. Tell us about the role and a recruiter will get back to you within one business day.
Month by month
The headline figures for each month. BLS revises the latest two months of payroll data, so recent months can change.
| Month | Engineering firm jobs | Monthly change | Avg hourly pay, engineering | Openings, prof. and business services | Unemployment rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 1,778,800 | +5,800 | – | – | 4.2% |
| August 2026 | 1,773,000 | +2,900 | $53.10 | 1,186,000 | 4.1% |
| July 2026 | 1,770,100 | +5,000 | $52.84 | 1,305,000 | 4.1% |
| June 2026 | 1,765,100 | +1,000 | $52.74 | 1,203,000 | 4.2% |
| May 2026 | 1,764,100 | +3,000 | $52.61 | 1,375,000 | 4.3% |
| April 2026 | 1,761,100 | +2,900 | $52.69 | 1,473,000 | 4.3% |
| March 2026 | 1,758,200 | +3,700 | $52.18 | 1,047,000 | 4.3% |
| February 2026 | 1,754,500 | +4,100 | $52.12 | 1,303,000 | 4.4% |
| January 2026 | 1,750,400 | +4,500 | $51.63 | 1,196,000 | 4.3% |
| December 2025 | 1,745,900 | +3,400 | $51.60 | 1,167,000 | 4.4% |
| November 2025 | 1,742,500 | +5,700 | $51.60 | 1,309,000 | 4.5% |
| October 2025 | 1,736,800 | +3,000 | $51.29 | 1,268,000 | – |
| September 2025 | 1,733,800 | +2,400 | $51.20 | 1,267,000 | 4.4% |
How this report is built
- Employment and pay: BLS Current Employment Statistics, seasonally adjusted: architecture and engineering firm jobs, their average hourly earnings, heavy and civil engineering construction, construction, manufacturing, computer systems design, total nonfarm and private-sector average hourly earnings. These update with the jobs report, usually on the first Friday of the month. The latest two months are preliminary and BLS revises them.
- Job openings: BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, seasonally adjusted: professional and business services, manufacturing, construction and all industries. JOLTS runs about a month behind the jobs report.
- Unemployment rate: BLS Current Population Survey, all workers.
- Annual pay by role: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics medians for the US and each metro area, refreshed each spring.
- Data centers: Apollo Technical's tracker of US campuses of 100 MW and up, checked against public sources and updated monthly. "What changed" compares the current tracker with its last snapshot from an earlier month.
- Edition date: each edition is named for the calendar month and uses the latest data released so far. The November 2026 edition currently covers September 2026 jobs data, and moves to the next month when the jobs report comes out. Everything on this page updates automatically when new data comes out.
Engineering hiring market FAQs
How is the engineering job market right now?
US architecture and engineering firms employed 1,778,800 people in September 2026, +2.6% on a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The tables above also show the construction and manufacturing industries, where many more engineers work, and job openings in each sector.
How fast is engineering pay rising?
Average hourly earnings at architecture and engineering firms were +4.1% on a year earlier in the latest month. For annual pay by role and city, see the pay table above or our engineering salary calculator.
When is this report updated?
Every month. The jobs and pay figures update when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its jobs report, usually on the first Friday of the month, and job openings follow about a week later. The data center section updates with our monthly data center map.
Why doesn’t the report show job openings for engineers alone?
The government’s job openings survey only breaks openings out by broad sector. Engineering firms sit inside professional and business services, so we show that sector alongside manufacturing and construction, the other two big employers of engineers.
Can I use these figures?
Yes. Please credit Apollo Technical and link to this page. For more detail, see our Data Center Workforce Report and our engineering shortage statistics.